Inside the crazy world of one of City law’s biggest stars

In an eye-catching FT interview, Paul Weiss’ Neel Sachdev talks holiday homes, flash cars and tennis with Ainsley Harriott

One of the biggest names in City law has offered a fascinating glimpse into his life away from the office, complete with a vintage red Mercedes, an Indian astrologer, regular tennis matches with TV chef Ainsley Harriott and even potential ambitions to become London mayor.

Neel Sachdev, the Paul Weiss heavyweight whose headline-grabbing 2023 move from Kirkland & Ellis was one of the City’s most talked-about lateral switches, is the subject of a colourful new profile in the Financial Times (£). The paper’s London legal correspondent, Suzi Ring, meets the 51-year-old lawyer in Portugal, where he has invested in a luxury property development on the site of a former orange grove in the Algarve.

Making a suitably eye-catching entrance, the Nottingham law grad pulls up to meet Ring in a red open-top 1977 Mercedes 450 SL while wearing a matching red outfit, sunglasses and his “trademark beaded bracelets”. Earlier that morning, he had already sent her five photos of the car, including one showing a Gucci tennis racket holder in the back, while Sachdev says the Mercedes itself was inspired by childhood memories of glamorous American TV shows including Dallas.

A top London lawyer wants to create ‘the California of Europe’ in the Algarve https://t.co/hNEOnrQvu6 via @ft

— Emre Deliveli (@EmreDeliveli) September 16, 2026

Away from the office, Sachdev’s sporting life is similarly star-studded, with the lawyer revealing that his regular doubles partner in London is TV chef Ainsley Harriott, who the newspaper notes is not a client. Discussing the growing “star culture” among leading City lawyers, he also describes his approach to clients as the “consigliere model”.

Astrology also appears to play a notable role in Sachdev’s decision-making, with the lawyer saying he consulted an astrologer in India before investing in the Portuguese development. He claims the same astrologer is also used by Indian prime minister Narendra Modi, and says he sought his advice before leaving Kirkland, and still turns to him for guidance when considering potential additions to the Paul Weiss team.

The Algarve project itself is substantial, with Sachdev and a business partner buying the former orange grove for a cool €1.5 million and developing 11 luxury homes on the site, named Laranjeiras, Portuguese for “orange trees”. The properties range from 5,000 to 6,000 sqft and, according to Sachdev, have been valued at more than €3 million each, while his own four-storey pad includes a 25-metre pool, basement gym and Dolce & Gabbana kitchen appliances.

Sachdev’s legal career has been similarly high-profile, with the private equity finance specialist making one of the City’s biggest lateral moves in 2023 when he left Kirkland for Paul Weiss as part of the US firm’s major London expansion. Reports at the time suggested his package was worth around £15 million a year.

Looking beyond BigLaw, Sachdev also hints that another high-profile career move could one day be on the cards, telling the newspaper when asked what he plans to do after eventually retiring from law: “I’ve always wanted to run for London mayor.”